Vintage Buying Advice

iambeam · by **iambeam** » 2019-12-21 5:39 p.m.

Hi everyone. I've picked up the Trombone after a hiatus of about 30 years! Used to play in grade school...

I'm a fairly good Guitarist and Pianist - a friend has a New Orleans/Jazz/Blues band and have picked it up again to be a part of that group!

I bought a used King 606 and it's working out fine, but now I'm wondering if I could buy something that has more of that old 20s/30s vintage sound!

From what I've read - the King 2b might be good. I'm also interested in something like a Conn 4h...

Let me know your suggestions!

BGuttman · by **BGuttman** » 2019-12-21 6:30 p.m.

I would suggest the following (only one of which is still being made):

King 2B

Conn 4H, 24H, 32H, 38H.

Bach 6

Martin Imperial or Committee (I played an Imperial in a Dixieland Band for several years)

Olds Recording or Special

Holton 65 or 69

I would stay away from some of the instruments of that period. The King #2 Solo or Improved Proportion may have serious slide problems, as would a York or Buescher. My Holton Paul Whiteman has serious problems with the outer tubes in the TIS section and I suspect it may be a common problem.

Maybe even a Yamaha 697 or 897. Yamaha 354 is good for less money.

Lots of other choices.

Good luck.

chromebone · by **chromebone** » 2019-12-21 6:55 p.m.

I can vouch for the Conn 24H. I have never played a bad one. They are simply spectacular horns; they play much bigger than their bore size and a sound unlike anything else from the period. They are the ballroom version of the 4H; the bell is placed closer back to facilitate plunger work. I think the longer neckpipe on the 24H does something to the horn to give its particular sound. 4H’s are good, but there is just something special and rarified about the 24H. The ones from the mid ‘30’s through the early 40’s are the best ones in my opinion, and they can be had for pretty reasonable prices. I have one from 1942 that I would never part with.

Kingfan · by **Kingfan** » 2019-12-21 7:48 p.m.

I have a pair of King 2Bs, one from the 70s that is ready to go and the one from the 60s with the cooler engraving but it needs some slide work. One or the other will be for sale in the next month or so. Where are you located?

CharlieB · by **CharlieB** » 2019-12-21 10:00 p.m.

To me, the old 1930's New Orleans jazz sound means edgy, sometimes even raucous. Is that what you want?

The Conn 6H is noted for being able to deliver that sound with ease when pushed.

Mouthpiece selection is perhaps more important. The same horn with a different mouthpiece can give you a much different sound.

JohnL · by **JohnL** » 2019-12-21 10:56 p.m.

Since they are a little on the small side by modern standards, a nice Conn 4H can sometimes be hard for a very reasonable price.

hyperbolica · by **hyperbolica** » 2019-12-22 6:19 a.m.

I like the NY Bach 6 for Dixieland music. You can get those relatively cheap, and they generally play great. 24h also a good choice.

imsevimse · by **imsevimse** » 2019-12-22 6:53 a.m.

Any .485 horn would give that edgy sound if you want that. You just blow it very hard. If you are interested in a brand from that peiod 1920-30 I would recommend Olds or Conn. They were very good at that time and they have that dated sound especially if they are TIS.

Slides can be a problem on any horn that old so if you can find a used King 3b I think it could be a real good dixieland horn too and could be used to do modern big band and other music as well.

/Tom

iambeam · by **iambeam** » 2019-12-22 9:15 a.m.

Wow! Great responses. I'm going to keep my eye out for some of these. I'm located in Maine in the United States. I'm not in a rush so I'll just monitor eBay!

@charlieb - do you have suggestions for mouthpieces I could try out?

BGuttman · by **BGuttman** » 2019-12-22 9:49 a.m.

How far up in Maine? I might have a couple of horns you could try out.

CharlieB · by **CharlieB** » 2019-12-22 6:46 p.m.

@charlieb - do you have suggestions for mouthpieces I could try out?

iambeam:

Check your Personal Messages.

Center icon at the menu bar above.

AlexMcMahon · by **AlexMcMahon** » 2019-12-22 10:11 p.m.

I’ve got an early Olds jazz horn that’s somewhere in the .490 range, tuning in slide, gold plated and heavily engraved. Slide plating is perfect- most of those Olds horns have great inner slide plating even after all this time. If you’re interested, send me a PM. I’m not playing it much, most of my playing is on my bigger horns.

iambeam · by **iambeam** » 2019-12-23 6:40 p.m.

Thanks. I may be interested at some point.

@bguttman - I'm around Portland so pretty close to NH. Thanks for the offer!

I think I'm just getting a feel for what people are playing and advising. At this point, I'm still pretty new... I want to spend a little bit more time playing what I got. Plus, I like to YouTube all of these and hear them - keep an eye on eBay to get a sense of prices and such...

I can't believe how quickly I got so many great responses. I might hit you both up in a few months though!

iambeam · by **iambeam** » 2019-12-24 3:48 p.m.

Any thoughts on this???

Seems like what everyone was talking about and in good condition... Love the silver look to it.

<LINK_TEXT text="https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2939800001">https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F382939800001</LINK_TEXT>

CharlieB · by **CharlieB** » 2019-12-25 11:03 a.m.

How much do you like to gamble?

In the fine print it says that the trombone is being sold by an estate liquidation company, not a trombonist.

Check their feedback to learn about all the junk that they're peddling.

Their claim that he trombone has a "smooth slide" is an uneducated opinion.

Used trombones are ALL ABOUT the slide smoothness

With the worn-through plating, it might be OK, or it might be horrible.

Caveat emptor.

Watch the want-ads on this forum for used trombones. The trombonists here are very knowledgeable, honest people that won't steer you wrong.

ilvecchio · by **ilvecchio** » 2020-01-08 8:52 p.m.

If I can pile on, I have a situation similar to the original poster. I'm playing guitar in a small "hot jazz" group, and am getting some pressure to play trombone. As a trombone player, I locked in on a good used 88H in about 1976 and never shopped for trombones again. My idea of "normal" back-pressure, etc is something that just sounds wrong for this style of music.

I know everything's a personal choice, but I'm torn between going all-in on the 1930s sound or attempting to split the difference with something like King 3B or Bach 16. It's your chance to be opinionated.

Vegasbound · by **Vegasbound** » 2020-01-09 2:19 a.m.

Talk to DJ, he will have the horn for you......even better if you can go visit him he has vintage horns galore

Geordie · by **Geordie** » 2020-01-09 4:03 a.m.

I play Olds Recording and Olds Special. If you go the Olds route consider using an Olds mouthpiece. The shank fits better and avoids tuning issues in my experience. Olds’ mouthpieces have a different tapered shank to most others. I use an Olds 3 mouthpiece.

Vegasbound · by **Vegasbound** » 2020-01-09 8:22 a.m.

[quote="Geordie"]I play Olds Recording and Olds Special. If you go the Olds route consider using an Olds mouthpiece. The shank fits better and avoids tuning issues in my experience. Olds’ mouthpieces have a different tapered shank to most others. I use an Olds 3 mouthpiece.[/quote]

Doug Elliott also makes an olds fitting back bore as well as the old King and conn ones too

iambeam · by **iambeam** » 2020-01-09 8:24 a.m.

[quote="Vegasbound"]Talk to DJ, he will have the horn for you......even better if you can go visit him he has vintage horns galore[/quote]

Who's DJ?

iambeam · by **iambeam** » 2020-01-09 8:28 a.m.

[quote="CharlieB"]How much do you like to gamble?

In the fine print it says that the trombone is being sold by an estate liquidation company, not a trombonist.

Check their feedback to learn about all the junk that they're peddling.

Their claim that he trombone has a "smooth slide" is an uneducated opinion.

Used trombones are ALL ABOUT the slide smoothness

With the worn-through plating, it might be OK, or it might be horrible.

Caveat emptor.

Watch the want-ads on this forum for used trombones. The trombonists here are very knowledgeable, honest people that won't steer you wrong.[/quote]

I ended up taking this gamble. It's AWESOME! The slide is super smooth. I didn't even realize that the horn I've been using didn't slide well until I tried this one. There's a bit of a funky smell to it - but I'm hoping that goes away in time.

Vegasbound · by **Vegasbound** » 2020-01-09 8:30 a.m.

Donald J Kennedy. Well known and respected on her and previously on TTF you can find him on Facebook too

CharlieB · by **CharlieB** » 2020-01-09 10:15 a.m.

I ended up taking this gamble. It's AWESOME! The slide is super smooth. I didn't even realize that the horn I've been using didn't slide well until I tried this one. There's a bit of a funky smell to it - but I'm hoping that goes away in time.

Congrat's.

Glad it worked out for you.

Any chance I can get you to buy lottery tickets for me?

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